SCULPTING PROJECTS |
1. Clay & Play-Doh
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We will start with the obvious sculpting ideas. These are the things you always think about when you hear the word "sculpture" in school. The possibilities are absolutely endless when sculpting with Play-Doh or Ari Dry Clay. The kiddos absolutely love participating in the process and showing off their masterpieces when they finish! Students can practice sculpting with these things starting in PreK and will enjoy using them the rest of their lives. Perhaps the characteristic that makes them so easily integrated in any possible subject is they fact that they are so malleable and can be manipulated and crafted into almost anything! Play_Doh is great for temporary sculpting projects where you can reuse it time and time again. For example, it can be used to sculpt shapes, numbers, letters, and even for learning colors. Students can design and construct more long lasting sculptures by using Air Dry Clay. They can sculpt masks (like in the video above) when studying present day and historical cultures or contribute to a class science project about ecosystems by sculpting the different plants and animals that live there. Students can also sculpt gifts during the holidays, parts of the human body, houses and buildings, and various items from history including making their very own replicas of famous sculptures. The ideas or endless here and I could go on forever. I also want to include using different types of sands and slimes as a medium for sculpting. The kids love them, they are reusable, and can be easily shaped into virtually anything for integration into any subject!
2. Using Styrofoam and other Various Objects
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For as long as I can remember, some kid always used Styrofoam to produce their solar system model for science class, but I never knew how many sculpting projects that Styrofoam and foam-paper could be used for. Students can carve sculptures out of floral foam like a real live artist or incorporate premade foam spheres and other shapes into their sculptures. No only can it be carved, but it can be paints and glued and used in many creative ways to produce the coolest educational sculptures. Have students make a sculpture that models the different layers of the earth or various foods for a 3d nutritional poster project. Another fun idea for the younger kiddos, (included in the middle video shown above), is having students use foam paper to make 3d sculptures. They could create houses, parks, roller casters, 3d landscapes, and other abstract sculptures. Don't forget to gather random objects around the house, old buttons, pipe cleaners, and hard candies to make them special!
3. Using Paper and Cardboard
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Using paper and/or cardboard as the medium for making sculptures in school, whether abstract, line, relief, or other types of sculptures, is usually the go to for teachers. Its easy, inexpensive, and opens the door for unlimited possibilities! Here I have just five awesome ideas, but you can literally use paper/cardboard sculpting to tie in with literally and core content subject. You can find something for any age of students with any level of difficulty. Also, a fun fact: When you use paper mache to create things like piñatas and masks, you are in fact, using paper for sculpting! Kids love to see the pictures in their heads come to life and one of the easiest ways to do that in the classroom is by creating paper sculptures. You can do this for making gifts, abstract art, gesture figures, unit themes such as under water ecosystems, creating 3d name tags for students' desks, paper honey combs for decorating the classroom, and even bringing innovative prototypes to life, to name a few examples. Promote creativity by allowing your students to make good use out of all your saved scraps of paper by asking them to design their own unique paper sculpture. You can tie it in with learning the basics such as letters and numbers or take it up a notch by creating paper sky lanterns or flowers and incorporating it into a lesson on different cultures. Older students also enjoy creating rolled paper sculptures from magazine pages.
4. Sculptural Felting
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This sculpting idea is very new to me and the process is quit lengthy, but nevertheless I believe it deserves a spot on the list. It is unique and very creative. Felt is another material that can be used to sculpt a number of different shapes and objects. The examples I've included would of course be used with the older students, because of the process involved in created this particular art. However, felt is a wonderful material that can also be folded, cut, and glued. It can also be used to cover cardboard and added to paper to make it stronger. Many artist that sculpt with felt will use needles (needle felting), but that certainly does not have to be the case. Premade felt strips and pieces can be purchased almost anywhere you can by craft supplies. Students can use it to make posters (felt boards), help decorate a class bulletin board, or holiday cards for their loved ones. One of the examples I've included uses felt to sculpt a Mr. Potato head, which is a great idea for learning body parts.
5. Assemblage Sculptures
Inspire by Louise Nevelson
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The next two sculpting ideas sort of go hand in hand. This one, Assemblage Art, has been around for a very long time, but one female artist in particular, Louise Nevelson, takes the spotlight in classrooms all over the world as teachers teach this sculpting to their students, all of which are in various age groups. Random objects, objects of the same material or color, or objects with a common theme are creatively places, usually in a shoe box or wooden box and most of time, are all painted the same color. These are fun projects to do in class or even at home and I like the idea of doing an "All About Me Assemblage". IN this activity students will include objects that say something about them or are meaningful to their personalities or lives. Its a great way to get to know our friends and their unique cultures and backgrounds!
6. Using Tooth pics and Recyclable Objects
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These activities, like paper sculpting, are often incorporated in art classes as well. Students gather tooth pics or recyclable objects and design awesome sculptures. Most of the time, they are sculpted using only the objects, glue, and imagination! They can be glued on paper or cardboard, or strategically pieced together to make unique 3d sculptures. Try having each student bring in a plastic bottle, decorate it, and then have the entire class collaborate on one sculpture. I included a "Crayon Carving" video. This video shows us a wonderful way to recycle our old crayons (and bars of soap). You can use safe carving tools to carve words, names, and shapes into the crayons to make mini sculptures. This could be difficult for any student, so I would suggest melting them down using your oven at home before you come into school. The bigger the block of crayon, the easier it will be for your kids to carve them. Lets not forget, we can also gather all of our old broken crayons and use glue to make sculptures with them.